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The Wankel Rotary Engine A History by John B. Hege

Conceived in the 1930s, simplified and successfully tested in the 1950s, the darling of the automotive industry in the early 1970s, then all but abandoned before resurging for a brilliant run as a high performance powerplant for Mazda, Felix Wankel's rotary engine has long been an object of fascination and mystery. A remarkably simple design (yet understood by few), it boasts compactness, light weight and nearly vibration-free operations.

This well-illustrated history follows the mechanical development of the engine and its use in various cars and other applications. It clearly explains the working of the engine, efforts by several companies to solve the technical challenges it presented, the economic and political troubles that nearly killed the rotary in the 1970s, and the prospects for future rotary-powered vehicles.

The Author, John B. Hege is an automotive technician in Winston-Salem North Carolina, who has followed the Wankel rotary since his and its early days.